Part of the Puzzle
by Fenri5
Summary: No joke things would be boring in Arkham City for mister Nigma some of the time. Thankfully, now, he won't be bored at all with this new riddle. eventual Harley/Joker
1. Chapter 1

_So I wrote an abomination of a fic for my unhealthy Joker fandom,_

_but lately I've been having some dreams about the Riddler. And got his logo tattooed_

_all over my leg, so, why not? Keep in mind I'm not as knowledgeable about him as the Joker, but I'm trying._

* * *

Enter Arkham City.

As you should know, The Riddler doesn't usually leave his hideout or temporary hideout, but he felt like stretching his legs this evening. As per usual, he had a few guys hired to help him steal some paintings. They didn't have much to work with here in Arkham City, so unfortunately he had to swindle these from under the Penguins nose.

But then again, he was never really a fan of the guy. Heck, he truly didn't hold anyone here in high regards besides maybe Ivy, since he owed her that much. Maybe.

He's standing outside as they load the paintings into a van. He has both hands on his cane, which is directly in front of him giving his appearance almost a aristocratic kind of view. He wouldn't have it any other way.

And besides all of this going on, his personal device would tick every now and then as Batman tried to analyze clues or found more trophies scattered through Arkham City. He'd never find them all, however. It's just simply impossible, and he was at peace with that fact.

Truly, Nigma was bored. Nothing new in this city. Same old, same old stuff. When he wasn't doing things like these, he was in his tower.

He'd rather be back in old Arkham.

Least escaping was fun.

Suddenly, an alarm went off in his pocket. He was sure to set up motion tracers around the small area in case of discovery, and now he was thankful he did. His brain never ceased to amaze him.

Momentary pat on the back, if you will.

He pulled out a rectangular device, staring for a moment, and seeing what area it came from, turned on his heels to look around. By then, his boys had loaded the paintings and were holding their guns up and pointing wherever he looked.

His eyes came to a stop in a certain, very cliche, shadowy corner.

Edward looked down at the puddle leading to that area, and noticed how it rippled.

"Show yourself, dog." he yelled.

No reply or movement.

One of his guys walked, well, stalked over to the scene. Edward saw his hands shaking, and really couldn't blame the guy. They probably thought it was the Dark Knight, but he wouldn't make mistakes like that.

"Boss you might want to come look at this." the thug slurred out.

As he made his way over, he noted in the back of his head that they all seemed to sound the same.

When Edward got closer, the thug took the barrel of his gun and poked the shoulder of the person they had found.

And for a moment, he was quite confused. Laying before his feet, perhaps passed out, was a girl. She looked to be no younger than eighteen and no older than early twenties.

Her arms were in front of her, as if she tried to shield her face from the fall. When he looked at her face, he began to wonder what something so innocent looking could possibly be doing here.

Kidnapped maybe?

This was a riddle in itself, and a riddle he indeed wanted to solve. She had saved him from his boredom, so he would save her from that filthy puddle.

He handed one of the men his cane, and leaned over to scoop her up. He wasn't all too surprised at how light she was, given her age assumption.

He turned to their vehicle, but was blocked by the man holding his cane.

"Move, fool." he snapped.

"But boss look at her leg..." he pointed uneasily at her left.

Edward had to lean slightly to see, but he wasn't prepared for this. He could have dropped her.

Running down her legs were his signature marks. The green question marks, and they were in all sizes.

It looked like a tattoo, but he couldn't be sure. And to make sure, he looked at her other leg, none too shocked to find another image. This one was just an icon, but the head of a jester. He knew who that could have stood for all too well.

Regardless, he brought her to the vehicle and sat in his seat, holding onto her while one of the other men drove.

"You're still going to take her?" one of them asked.

"Of course. I believe my finding her was no accident, and neither are the markings on her legs."

* * *

Light pierced through the windows. Well, some light. Arkham City wasn't too bright.

He was currently in his control room, typing away at this and that while his guest slumped against the wall near the door. He assumed she was nothing dangerous, considering her small stature and almost sickly nature. She may have been the whitest thing he'd ever seen.

Almost on queue, he turned in his chair to stare at her, and she moved.

He didn't budge, and she abruptly lost her balance and smacked onto the floor. At that, she quickly sat back up, holding herself up with her hand when she did.

Somehow he didn't notice her hands before, but the nails were long and pointy. Kind of like Catwoman, but real and not fake. They clicked as she set them on the floor.

And then came her eyes. She looked around, seemingly disoriented and saw Edward for the first time. They locked gazes and he felt momentarily blown away at the bright red of her eyes. So unnatural, but he knew they were real, as were the tiny, cat like shape of her pupils.

Give her a tail and she could have been some real version of a cat-person. Or a demon, take your pick.

"The Riddler?" she spoke before he could.

He could describe her voice as slightly more mature for her appearance, and laced with venom. Not towards him, it seemed, but towards someone else perhaps?

"You know of me." he had to supress an smile. He was, after all, a famed genius.

"Am I dreaming?" she turned away and scratched her head, eyes suddenly getting a little wide in a startled way.

"No." he drawled out, unsure if it was meant to be a compliment to him or an actual question.

"So you are Edward Nigma, right? The REAL Riddler?" she held out a hand, as if weighing the words.

"Of course." why was she so surprised? Surely she's lived here before this.

"Oh..." she stopped again and held her head, looking down. When she did, she moved an arm over her left leg purposefully.

"Ah! No." he sat up, remembering. "Why do you have those there?" he pointed.

"Oh, I guess you already saw them huh?" she moved her arm away, putting her knee's to her chest and staring at him. "I got these tattoo's when I started having a recurring dream."

Edward felt himself slump a little. "Oh."

She stood, and he looked straight forward at her. Now that she was awake, she looked a lot less frail. It looked like she stood at about five feet, three inches give or take one inch or so. She had a white pullover hoodie thing on, but it seemed most of her muscle was in her legs, which shown well since she was wearing shorts. Probably not the smartest choice for attire in these walls.

Other things about her: she has long, brown hair, and her bangs part from the left going right. She was wearing a necklace, it seemed, but the charm was under her jacket. As for shoes, she didn't have any.

One more thing more or less worth mentioning, she was quite swell in appearance. Not ugly whatsoever, which he would have no problem being honest about.

"What about the other? I'm sure you don't take me for a fool and think that I don't know who that is for."

"Not at all. It was meant as a...tribute if you will, to the Joker. As my other leg is meant for yourself. Any man with such intellect is worth admiring."

He could have imagined it, but it seems he may have saw a wicked smile on her face before it dissapeared.

"Ah, well I'm glad to know some people enjoy my work." he put a hand to his chest, feeling a little too proud of himself at the moment.

"And as I know your such a brilliant mind, perhaps you can understand my situation here." she clasped her hands behind her back, looking positively innocent as could be.

"Go on my dear." he waved out a hand.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be here. From this world, that is."

Riddler could have let his mouth drop. He felt like he had just found the most perfect riddle of all, as insane as she sounded. "Proceed?"

"I come from a world, same planet, but another dimension. In our version of earth, all of this." she holds out her hands. "is something merely from comics and video games. Your all our entertainment."

He stood up at that, and she wasn't far from him to begin with but he scooped her up in his arms and swung her around. If he could have saw her face, her eyes would have been wide.

"Thank you! If anything is to ease my boredom this surely will. Not to mention I knew that some world would admire my work." he set her down, grinning from ear to ear.

"Woah guy I mean this is just as long as this isn't a dream...I just know I do not belong here." she sighed then, and let her head hang. "Oh, how I've wished to be in this world with you guys. To be among the best of the best." she held up a dramatic hand.

"What are you in your world if you don't mind my inquiry? You seem, well, not normal." he pointed at his own eyes indicating her own.

At this, she laughed, and it was indeed different. It reminded him of the Joker's laugh, but very inhuman. It even sent a chill down his spine, how about that?

"That's the riddle, isn't it? I'll give you my name, though. It's Jigsaw." she smiled. Which was also extremely eerie.

"Jigsaw? Like a puzzle?" he pointed, smirking at the clever name.

"Yes and no. My name has a different purpose, but first lets explore." she pointed out the window at the city.

"Nonononono, my dear, did your games tell you what this is?" he put both hands on his hips.

"Of course. Arkham City. If your worried about being blown up and whatnot, don't worry, I have your back. And I'm all the backup you'll ever need."

As he stared at her, he couldn't get over how positively radiant she seemed to be. And to think, this was barely a glimpse of what she was.

* * *

_Jigsaw is myself set in a fictional version of earth I wrote a long time ago._

_She looks exactly like myself, and I might be a little vain but it's all good. Review? ;;_


	2. Chapter 2

**Been playing Arkham City and got to see**

**the Riddler a little. Still doesn't help with knowing the little things**

**but I shall still write this fic. c8**

* * *

Perhaps only a couple hours later, the two were in another section of his tower. She seemed to be looking for something, throwing his things around while he stood over her, head cocked to the side.

"Did I have anything with me where you found me?"

As she said this, she turned to look back at him, making almost a childish pout-face. It really didn't suit her.

"No. At least I don't think so. What are you looking for?"

She smiled at the question, and opened her arms. "Believe it or not, a scythe. About this long. It also has an old chainsaw engine attatched to the blade. You wouldn't miss it."

"Apparently I did." slight pause. "Isn't that more like The Scarecrow? He wouldn't like you stealing his gag."

"He," she pulled out the word, continuing to search his things. "has his needles. Besides, he'd have a scythe because he's going for the farmer-scarecrow thing. I have my scythe because the reaper is usually personified with a scythe. Therefore, I am death."

Edward gave her something of a dissapointed look. "Don't look at me that way. You all do it. You've got your question marks, Joker has his face. Among other things."

She finally stood, placing her clawed hands on her hips, staring at the mess she made.

"Looks like were going back to where you found me." she murmured mostly to herself.

Jigsaw suddenly felt a hand close around her wrist and yank her backwards. She almost collided with the Riddler if he had pulled any harder.

"Listen here. This is my tower and YOU listen to ME. I am not your sidekick."

Jigsaw bit down hard. She was not one to take orders, and definitely not from someone she could break in half. But then again, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Time to play the fragile, scared chickadee.

"Oh I'm sorry.." she let her gaze drop to the floor. "I just figured since your so revered and strong, you'd protect me. I can go alone..."

And as expected, the man's grip loosened and his face softened. "No." he sighed. "I'll take you there. Batman would break you, girl."

He turned away, she assumed to gather things, and she took the moment to breathe. Jigsaws eyes turned colder and she stood straight. Batman wouldn't stand a chance. She is nothing from this world.

"You say it was here?"

They had made their way across town in the oh so inconspicuous car with the big green question mark taped across its frame.

"Indeed." the Riddler was standing back, both hands on his cane as he was earlier. "Don't go off without me, though. This city could swallow you and I'd never know."

"Awe, you do care." she turned and smiled up at him jokingly.

At this, he shuffled his feet and turned away. What an interesting rat that was.

Turning back, she was gone.

He tossed his cane up as he ran forward, snatching it as he went, and followed the damn girl around the corner.

"I thought I said..." he didn't finish, following her eyes to the old burnt down Iceberg Lounge.

"Cool." she picked through the rubble, tossing things about.

He then leaned on a building, watching her with some interest. Her weapon sounded interesting, but how in the hell would she carry it? Scythes are already heavy, and the two just don't seem to go together.

"I never took you for a babysitter, Nigma."

No mistaking it. He knew they had gone too far, but in his efforts to please this curious creature, he'd let it slide. Now he might pay for it. His legs told him to run, but they were rooted to the ground. He didn't want to be branded a coward to his new toy.

"Hey guy, I'm an adult." she stood and faced the Penguin.

Penguin stood behind several thugs, or guards, looking smug. And why shouldn't he? Everyone know the Riddler was a hideaway guy. Never does dirty work up front. He had nothing at his advantage. Her words from earlier rang in his head, but how could she possibly be any match for these people?

His eyes trailed to her hands, where she held a broken piece of glass.

"Awe, how cute. Whatcha gonna do with that darlin'? Don't trip and fall." Penguin sneered, getting some laughs out of his crew.

Right after, Jigsaw held the glass up and cowered. "Please don't do this!" she screamed.

When the lot got more smug, advancing on her, Edward saw her arms relax. Everyone stopped, and she held up the hand with the glass. She held it between her fingers, showing them all, and with a slight flick of the wrist, hurled it at the Penguin. It took root right in his hand.

This was bad for business.

"Bitch!" Penguin yelled, holding his arm. "You'll pay for this!"

The crowd converged on her, but she was quick to react. Almost too quick. As she fought hand to hand, it reminded him of Catwoman's style. At one moment, he caught sight of her raking her nails across one of the inmates' faces. He wailed in agony before dropping away.

Penguin looked as surprised as he was.

When she was done with them, she picked up a gun with her foot, tossing it and catching with her right. Some sort of shotgun, he couldn't be sure. He just saw her flick it open, shut, and aim the barrel down at Penguin.

"No! Don't do it." Riddler finally found his voice. "Without him, everything will fall out of balance."

Jigsaw looked his way, boredly, and then back at Penguin. "Your lucky. My, uh, babysitter as you called him? He has a little influence over what I do." she turned her leg and pointed at her tattoo. "I never did like you, Mr. Cobblepot."

Penguin just kept looking back and forth between the two, confusion painted all over him.

Jigsaw turned away, and began walking to where Riddler was, letting the gun rest on her shoulder in a lazy fashion. "Bad for business?" she asked.

He went to answer, but over her shoulder he saw Penguin pull the gun. Well, umbrella.

He even put a hand on her shoulder to push her aside, but it was too late. The shot rang out, and Jigsaw fell forward.

He caught her, seeing as she fell the wound in her back.

Edward expected his turn next, but when he looked up, Penguin was gone.

This shouldn't have happened. He wasn't done with her yet. This girl was a riddle, a puzzle even that he intended to solve. All of this brought to an end with a single bullet.

He had laid her where he used to sleep, not really knowing what to do with her. In his puzzlement, he sat cross-legged on the floor, his face about level with the bed.

She looked to be sleeping peacefully, but he couldn't tell. Was she dead? Probably.

No matter how other worldly she seemed, she was still human.

Or was she?

Edward tapped his fingers together for a moment, looking at the still body. The way she was laying was slightly on her stomach, her arms brought to her chest as if she was cold. Her back was bloody from the gunshot.

Slowly, he lifted her shirt to find the point of impact.

Her jacket being so tight to her frame, he had to feel with his hand where the hole would be. And he damn well felt like a pervert. But to his surprise, he could find nothing, and as his fingers brushed where it should have been-

"Feel free to continue."

He lept to his feet, slapping his arms behind his back. When he looked down, solid red eyes stared back at him. Perhaps some amusement there, but she wore a frown.

"How are you alive?" he asked quickly.

"Like I told you, I'm not like most people."

She sat up and pulled back her jacket, revealing as he thought. Nothing there.

"How...?" he whispered, bending to take a further look.

"I wouldn't be interesting if I solved the riddle of myself now would I?" she pushed her jacket back down. "So tell me what you were planning to do, assuming I was dead. Didn't know you were into that sort of thing."

"Absurd! I would do no such thing."

"What would you do?" she slided up to him, totally invading his personal space.

He backed up a little, putting his hands up. "Now now.."

"Here's a riddle, question, what have you." she waved a hand. "Do you have a girl, mister Nigma? Like Harley?"

He crossed his arms, disgruntled. "I'd never strike a woman. But no, I do not."

"Where do I put in my application?" she purred, yanking him by his tie. He wondered for a moment how she could possibly be stronger than him.

As idiotic as it sounds, as genius as he was, he never took notice in many girls. He did, but didn't. They never noticed him, so he figured he had enough love for himself to just not worry about it. But then again, it would be nice to have someone that worshipped the ground you walked in, considering almost all females are like that.

As he had pondered this, Jigsaw had moved back, and was watching him with arms crossed.

"What?" he asked, assuming she asked a question.

"Sorry I get a little crazy when I recover from wounds like that. Hurts a little more in this world than mine."

"Oh?" he put a finger to his lip. "You never told me what you are. Is there any way to hint? Perhaps..." he held up his pointer finger. "A riddle?"

Jigsaw put her hands on her hips, smiling from ear to ear rather maliciously. "Riddle me this. What is the most powerful, unstoppable force on this planet?"

Riddler stared at her eyes, feeling somewhat vulnerable now to this so called 'unstoppable' killing machine. That's what she implied isn't it?

"Your not human." he said assuredly.

"I thought that was assumed when I could take a bullet to the spine."


End file.
